The invention relates to a portable musical instrument stand. More particularly, it relates to a stand for keyboards and the like, which may be quickly and easily erected to provide a stable platform for supporting instruments, and may also be collapsed or folded into a relatively small space during transport or storage.
Performing musicians often need a stand or support to support a musical instrument, e.g., a keyboard, in a position which allows the musician an accessible and comfortable playing posture. Due to the temporary nature of most music equipment set ups, it is most desirable that such a support be capable of being erected or set up in a minimum amount of time, and without tools or special skills. In addition, such a musical instrument stand should have the ability to be folded into a small and lightweight package in order to facilitate frequent transportation between performances. Moreover, once such a stand is erected, it must be stable in order to avoid rocking or movement of the stand and the instruments mounted thereon, especially during exceptionally vigorous or enthusiastic musical performances.
While existing folding instrument stands have generally been found to be satisfactory, they have not provided all of the above mentioned features and advantages. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. De. 257,987 discloses a keyboard stand which may be folded so that its depth is significantly reduced, however, this design has a fixed height and width. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,999 generally relates to a portable and collapsible rack which can be reduced to a compact size, but this rack requires the assembly of separate pieces or segments. Another related apparatus which is easily portable is known from German Pat. No. 184107 which discloses a lightweight folding easel. Although this easel can be folded into a compact state, it is intended to support only lightweight loads and would be unsuitable as a musical instrument stand. Finally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,999,727 and 3,960,275 relate to apparatus having some rack-like features, but which, of themselves, could not be used as a musical instrument stand.
Moreover, these and other musical instrument stands presently in use can often be quite time consuming and/or difficult to erect, require the use of tools, do not provide adequate support for a musical instrument, or are bulky and unadjustable thereby preventing the musical instruments mounted thereon from being positioned as desired.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved portable and foldable stand for musical instruments.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a music stand which is simple in design, economical, of lightweight construction, quick and easy to use and erect, and which is sturdy or secure when in the erected position.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such an improved musical instrument stand which includes a variety of adjustment features which enable a musical instrument to be easily positioned as desired.